Haditha: What Happened?; Nearly 600 Detainees Released from Iraqi Jails; It's the Pitts; All About Africa

Aired June 7, 2006 - 14:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: No passing the buck. One man says he and he alone is ultimately responsible for what U.S. Marines do in Iraq. As you may have seen live here on CNN, Marine Corps Commandant Michael Hagee spoke to reporters last hour at the Pentagon.
He talked about the probes into what witnesses describe as unprovoked killings of civilians in Iraq not by insurgents, but by U.S. troops. General Hagee urged trust in the military justice system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. MICHAEL HAGEE, COMMANDANT, U.S. MARINE CORPS.: Where compliance with our standards is in question, we use well-established processes to determine as accurately and expeditiously as possible what happened and why. But make no mistake, a Marine who has been found to have violated our standards will be held accountable.

It is important about who we are, and all Marines expect it. High standards and accountability define Marines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, sources inside the investigation tell us not to expect any official findings for weeks, possibly months.

Haditha is not going away. Marines accused of murder, conflicting reports, the outraged and grieving families of 24 dead Iraqis. What exactly happened on that horrible November day?

Here's our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even before a decision is made whether to charge anyone with killing unarmed men, women and children at Haditha, defense lawyers are busy constructing an alternative version of events, aimed at countering the perception the deaths were the result of a murderous rampage by Marines bent on revenge.

If the cases come to trial, look for attorneys to question the idea Marines knew that only unarmed civilians were in the houses in a village believed to be a hotbed of insurgent activity. They may call witnesses like Corporal Scott Jepsen, who told CNN he was in Haditha, but not at the scene. CORPORAL SCOTT JEPSEN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I believe that insurgents did dwell inside those houses there, and they -- and they did live with their family members. And I think that's part of the reason why the insurgency is so strong in that area, that they do -- they -- they do live in those houses there in Haditha.

MCINTYRE: Defense attorneys will paint a picture of a confusing day of nearby firefights and daylong battles, in which unmanned spy planes tried to track insurgent movement and may have been used to direct Marines to clear the houses of suspected insurgents.

One attorney tells CNN he's been told that the members of Kilo Company didn't know that their fellow Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas died in the IED attack on their convoy until they returned to the base at the end of the day, undercutting the contention the Marines were seeking vengeance.

One problem for defense lawyers, how to explain the allegedly false report by Marines that the bomb blast also killed some of the civilians, which the evidence, gunshot wounds, clearly disputes.

But Pentagon sources confirm what experts have been saying. The long delay in beginning the investigation, along with the refusal, so far, of the families to allow the bodies of the victims to be exhumed, is making it hard to get the kind of evidence that can make a murder charge stick in court.

(on camera): Sources say the investigation into Haditha could now drag well into the summer, as investigators have decided they need to re-interview some witnesses and try again to get access to the bodies in order to get the kind of forensic evidence they need to link individual Marines to the killings.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Inside Iraq, violence and jubilation. Six police officers are among nine people killed today in Baghdad. Five other bodies turned up elsewhere in the city. But 15 kidnapped victims were set free, as were hundreds of detainees held by the government.

Here's CNN's John Vause.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 15 hostages were found by Iraqi police in east Baghdad in the middle of the night. They claim to have been blindfolded, beaten and tortured by their kidnappers. Three of them had gunshot wounds to the foot.

Still no word on at least 35 others who were taken with them from downtown Baghdad on Monday at gunpoint by men dressed as Iraqi commandos. Sunni groups accuse the police of being involved in the mass kidnapping. The interior ministry says it's investigating. Also released today, 600 prisoners from Iraqi and U.S. detention centers. The prime minister has ordered 2,500 prisoners released from jail, mostly those without any clear evidence against them or were jailed by mistake.

It's an attempt to heal the rift between the Sunnis and the Shiites. At least 25,000 inmates are currently being held, most of those are Sunnis. The prime minister, however, says anyone loyal to Saddam Hussein or considered a terrorist will not be released.

John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Six hours, give or take, and Kimberly Dozier should be back in the U.S. The CBS correspondent critically wounded in Baghdad left a U.S. military hospital in Germany this morning alert and talking. Her friends say she's improving and in good spirits but has a long road ahead of her.

She's one of 40 wounded patients heading home. It's not clear whether Army Specialist Kenneth Snipes (ph) is among them, but he also was critically hurt in that car bomb last week in Baghdad. Another soldier, two of Dozier's CBS colleagues and an Iraqi translator were killed.

It's not where you'd expect to see Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on display in an art exhibition in Baghdad. But a painting called Picnic is part of a display that opens next week. The works are supposed to suggest the anger that some Iraqis feel over the U.S. presence in their country.

Another piece of work, Execution Plaza. It shows a woman in a red dress representing Iraq. She's blindfolded and turned to stone.

On the home front, hopes were high among Democrats. So the heartache is much worse now that Republican Brian Bilbray has won the House seat, vacated by Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Cunningham is a top gun from Vietnam who's now serving eight years in prison for taking bribes during as many years representing San Diego in Washington.

Bilbray will serve until November, at which time he and Busby will square off again for a full two-year term.

California's governor now has an opponent in his re-election bid. Democrats nominated state treasurer Phil Angelides to face Arnold Schwarzenegger this fall.

Well, a monumental defeat for Roy Moore in Alabama. You may remember the ex-Alabama chief justice forever known for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. Well, incumbent Bob Riley defeated Moore in yesterday's Republican gubernatorial primary by an almost 2-1 margin. In a speech to disappointed supporters, Moore said, "God's will has been done."

The two hottest stars on the planet have procreated. And if you don't know that, well, you don't get out very much. Now the stars are speaking up in their adopted home of Africa.

We're live there coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Brangelina takes a bow. New parents Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finally emerge from their bunker in Namibia for their first news conference since the birth of their daughter Shiloh. At a tightly controlled appearance at a luxury hotel, mom and dad thanked Namibia for hosting them during the blessed event and for protecting their privacy throughout.

CNN's Robyn Curnow joins me now from Johannesburg, South Africa, with more on the Shiloh mania -- Robyn.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Well, as you can see, I'm not in Namibia, and neither were many other journalists because it has been a very tightly-controlled camp.

Only Namibian journalists, and only a selected few Namibian journalists were allowed into that press conference. It was about 12 of them, and they -- they really got to spend some quality time with Brad and Angelina. But really no surprises on what was said in the press conference.

As you've touched on, Brad and Angelina repeatedly thanked Namibia. They said they were grateful for the peace that they had there. They also said it was the perfect place to have their baby.

As for the Namibians, well, it's a big story for them. It's the scoop of the year, if not the decade. It's not often you get celebrities like Brad and Angelina coming through town.

So, for them, I think they were pretty excited. Many of them asking for autographs at the end of the press conference.

PHILLIPS: Now, Robyn, I know you weren't there, but I understand you've got some juicy tidbits.

CURNOW: Well, some of the details, a little bit of the gossip to come out. According to the journalists I've spoken to on the ground, what was interesting is that Brad and Angelina repeatedly said that they would not be getting married, that there was no wedding bells in sight. They said that they didn't need that institution for them to bring up their children together.

So I suppose no -- no marriage for them. They've probably been burnt a bit much between the two of them. I think they've had three marriages, I think I'm correct in saying.

So that little bit of juicy information. Also, it appears, according to one reporter I spoke to, that they will be leaving Namibia in the next few days. Brad's got to start shooting "Oceans 13."

And also, Brad said that little Shiloh qualifies for a Namibian passport.

PHILLIPS: Well, I understand now that this money -- they sold these pictures for a lot of money, a couple million dollars. I think I'm getting that right. Do we know where that money is going to go? They're setting up some sort of fund, right?

CURNOW: Well, they haven't been specific about where it's going. They said it's going to go to charity. And more than likely, most of the funds, or at least some of those funds are going to go to charities dealing at least with African children.

But, yes, the amount, we're not quite sure on just how much the first pictures of baby Shiloh are worth. Some experts saying the worldwide rights are worth up to $7 million. We've also heard that "People" paid a reported $4.1 million for just the U.S. rights to publish them.

So, she's only a week and a half old, but already a huge price on baby Shiloh's head, Kyra. So -- but you can expect to see those pictures in "People" on Friday. So look out for those.

PHILLIPS: Still the number one clicked on story on CNN.com.

Robyn Curnow, thank you so much.

CURNOW: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Well, all new parents have baby pictures, and all new parents' friends are obliged to say, "Ahh." Well, the same goes for famous new parents, except that their baby picks spark bidding wars and lawsuits.

CNN's Brooke Anderson sets the stage for the world's first peek at baby Brangelina.

It's not child's play.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's newborn baby finally arrived on May 27th. Her name, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. Some biblical references define Shiloh as quote "generally understood as denoting the Messiah." And perhaps not since Jesus has a baby's arrival been so eagerly anticipated, at least in some circles. Brad and Angelina have been chased around the globe as the paparazzi's pursued its holy grail.

Now the photos are out, shot by Getty Images, a commodity so guarded and valuable, we can't show you them here. Even its CEO hasn't seen them yet.

JONATHON KLEIN, CEO, GETTY IMAGES: The reason I haven't seen them is because of the security around the pictures. It's the first time we've done a major shoot where the only people who have seen the pictures are the photo editors and the sales people who are working with customers. ANDERSON: "People" magazine won a tabloid bidding war and paid a reported sum of $4.1 million for the exclusive North American rights to the first glimpse of Baby Jolie-Pitt, and says it will publish the pictures in this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.

When the tabloids began heralding the news in January, the couple was with child, this was the big money shot: a visibly pregnant Angelina. People paid an estimated $500,000 for exclusive rights to it. The money went to one of Brad and Angelina's favorite charities, Yele Haiti.

The philanthropic group is one more and more stars, such as Julia Roberts and Courteney Cox, have taken to to relieve the stress of being pursued by tabloid photographers. Photos of their firstborns were sold, and the money given to charity.

"People" magazine reportedly gave $500,000 to a Hurricane Katrina relief fund for the first photos of Britney Spears' firstborn, Sean Preston. In 2002, after giving birth to son James Wilkey, Sarah Jessica Parker tipped off photographers to when and at which exit she and her newborn would be leaving the hospital. The family stood and posed on the steps for several minutes. Everyone had this shot, turning what some predicted would be a million-dollar photo into a discount special.

Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And we point out the $4 million-plus amount for the baby's pictures, as we mentioned, are going to charity.

Well, you know the old saying about the two things that we can count on, death and taxes, right? Well, how much do you know about the death tax? Susan Lisovicz has a check of the markets and more when we come back.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the newsroom. Carol Lin working a number of developing stories for us.

This is where a 35-year-old rape and murder suspect has just arrived at the Pickens County Sheriff's Office. His name is Jeremy Inman, and he is going to be facing kidnap, murder and rape charges.

He is accused in the death of Clemson student Tiffany Souers, 20 years old, who was found raped and strangled in her apartment. This happened about a week ago. Now, this man, Jeremy Inman, may be a suspect in two other rapes across two other state lines both in Alabama, as well as Texas.

We're going to hear some sound from Tiffany's mother in a short time, but also, I want to take you to a developing situation in Tyler, Texas, right now, Kyra. Take a look at this.

You're looking at an armored personnel carrier on the scene in Tyler, Texas, where two officers were shot. There's a standoff going on at a house right now.

We don't have any other details in terms of why they were responding to this house, but there was gunfire today in northeast Tyler, and it has left two law enforcement officers shot. The standoff is continuing right now.

We're going to keep an eye on this for you as LIVE FROM goes on -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thank you so much, Carol.

Well, at about $60,000 a pop, it's hardly a steal at a dealership. So it may be no surprise that the Cadillac Escalade is the number one steal on the street. For the fourth year in a row, the flashy, trendy SUV topped the insurance industry's list of most stolen cars. The car least popular with thieves, Ford Taurus.

The estate tax, the death tax, whatever you call, a Senate debate about whether to repeal it, well, it's splitting the Republican Party.

Susan Lisovicz joins us now live from the New York Stock Exchange with a closer look at the tax in question -- Susan.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the newsroom. Carol Lin with details on that developing story we've been telling you about -- Carol.

LIN: Kyra, we're seeing now pictures from the courtroom of this 35-year-old rape and murder suspect, Jeremy Inman, in court there as he faces charges for kidnapping, raping and murdering a 20-year-old Clemson student, Tiffany Souers.

Kyra, some of the details of this, the young girl's body was found in her apartment a little -- almost a week ago. This man was arrested near his parents' home in Dandridge, Tennessee, and he was extradited back to South Carolina.

Kyra, according to the sheriff in Dandridge, Tennessee, he did not know the victim. He was driving around, and he chose her by random.

Earlier, we heard from Tiffany's mother, who clearly had so much love and respect for her daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREN SOUERS, SLAIN STUDENT'S MOTHER: I don't think if you ever get closure. It's definitely the next step.

We'll -- you know, we'll let the police do what they need to do down there. We'll probably stay out of that for our own sake and start picking up the pieces and figure out what life is going to be like without her.

Oh, I don't know. I think -- I think she fought so desperately that she left a lot of clues. There was no way this man was going to go free. She was a strong girl that was going to make sure that -- that he pays for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Kyra, Jerry Inman is a convicted sex offender. He had offended before. And now he's a suspect in rapes both in Alabama, as well as Tennessee.

So looking at live pictures, as he is now being brought back to Pickens County to face rape and murder charges.

PHILLIPS: Well, Carol, this has brought about a number of questions about how can someone who has committed this type of crime in the past be on the streets and be allowed to commit such a crime again? We're going to talk with Erin Runnion.

You remember the Samantha Runnion case...

LIN: Oh, yes.

PHILLIPS: ... a number of years ago in California. And she's been quite an advocate since her little girl went through the same thing...

LIN: Yes. She was only 5 years old.

PHILLIPS: ... where somebody had committed the same type of crime. Right, exactly. You remember the story. And you just wonder, state by state there are so many gaps. And these men shouldn't be allowed to be on the streets. You know?

LIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: One crime is far too many.

LIN: Yes. In fact, South Carolina is considering tougher sentencing guidelines against sex offenders, but clearly, not in time for the Souers family.

PHILLIPS: All right. Carol Lin, thanks so much.

All right, quick now, what was the hurricane that hit Texas and Louisiana less than a month after Katrina? If it took you a moment to come up with the name Rita, you're not alone. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports that while Rita may be a fading memory for many, it's still a daily nightmare for the people who lived through it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Shrimpers work off the coast of Cameron, Louisiana. All looks normal until the boats dock and day breaks and you get a look at destroyed town where 90 percent of the population is now gone. One of the most decimated towns in the Gulf. But this is not from Katrina, it's from Rita.

Barbara McCluskey lives in a FEMA trailer there with her mother.

BARBARA MCCLUSKEY, RITA VICTIM: I don't like to feel sort of abandoned or sort of stranded, and I do feel sort of stranded.

TUCHMAN: The immense damage from Hurricane Rita has been obscured because of Katrina's fury less than a month earlier. And many who are suffering here believe the lack of attention to Rita led to a lack of government care.

(on camera): What do you think of the job of the federal government, the people in Washington who have been dealing with this disaster?

CLIFTON HEBERT, CAMERON PARISH EMERGENCY DIR.: I think they just have dropped it.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Clifton Hebert is the emergency director in Cameron Parish who says federal workers on the ground have worked hard on the ground but blames bureaucrats in Washington for red tape in delivering FEMA trailers and funding demolition and cleanup.

HEBERT: I certainly think that we're getting less attention.

TUCHMAN: The town of Cameron now has no livable houses, literally zero. There were 2,500 people who lived here. Now it's about 200. The strongest winds from Rita ripped through Cameron. The town was under up to 15 feet of water. Thousands of livestock were killed. The destruction was violent.

(on camera): On the day before Hurricane Rita, there were dozens of homes in this field behind me. Now it's as if they have evaporated. One of the houses that was here was built in the 1700s. It stood and withstood calamities large and small for all those years until Rita.

(voice-over): Barbara McCluskey's mother also happens to be named Rita, and she thinks Hurricane Rita may be the catalyst to her leaving Louisiana forever.

TUCHMAN: Brian and Carla Richard wanted to get a FEMA trailer, but they heard nothing from the government until last month, which was too late because they had already gotten this trailer on their own dime.

BRIAN RICHARD, RITA VICTIM: We wanted to come home, and that's the only way we could come home, so we bought a home.

GIL JAMIESON, FEMA DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Are we perfect? Absolutely not. Have we responded to every need that they have with our programs? In many instances, we haven't. But for the programs that we do have, we've done our best to get them to them as quickly and as efficiently as we can.

TUCHMAN: Amid this devastated town sits a heavily damaged church with a monument commemorating past hurricanes. A plaque that says "do not harm my children" serves as a reminder that the people of Cameron were actually very fortunate that nobody was killed.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Cameron, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Storm battered, struggling and waiting for hem. Many of Rita's victims in southeast Texas feel they too have been forgotten in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Walter Diggles heads up the Deep East Texas Council of Government which is trying to get help for the victims of Hurricane Rita. He joins me from Washington.

Walter, thanks for being with us.

WALTER DIGGLES, DEEP EAST TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVTS.: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: I wanted to humanize this, just like Gary did in that piece, and really get down to how the people, specifically in Texas, continue to suffer from Rita. Let's start with the Reynolds family. I think this story pretty much made a tremendous impact on us.

DIGGLES: Absolutely. That's one of the families who were devastated by Hurricane Rita. Their family was already facing some very unfortunate circumstances when Hurricane Rita devastated their home. And that's just one of the examples of the massive devastation that occurred by Hurricane Rita.

PHILLIPS: So Walter, they have got gaps in their home, holes in their home, yet they're caring for a son that's in a coma?

DIGGLES: That's correct.

PHILLIPS: And they're getting no money and no help?

DIGGLES: They haven't gotten any assistance at this point, and we're just hoping and praying that help is on the way.

PHILLIPS: So what can you do? What can anyone do? I mean, obviously, this is why we wanted to do this segment and talk to you about it, to get money to them. Who is not doing their job to provide for these people?

DIGGLES: Well, you know, we're here in Washington, D.C. this week, and we've been here for several months back and forth now working with Congress to get some attention to Hurricane Rita.

And just on last evening we heard that the conference committee is going to approve a 90/10 reimbursement to local governments who have been really carrying the burden of this expense with a 75/25 rate. And with that change in the law, it's going to greatly enhance the ability of those local governments to respond to the needs in those communities.

PHILLIPS: So let me ask you this. We were reading the "Texas Monthly" article, and they had stated a number that Congress had passed $29 billion for relief from hurricane damage, 6.2 billion went to Louisiana, five billion to Mississippi, Texas got 74.5 million, yet in the article it said that Texas hadn't received a single penny in that money. Is that still true?

DIGGLES: Well, the process was extremely slow. We're currently now working with those local governments to identify those priorities, and we should be actually administering some of those funds to local governments within the next month.

Again, it's been slow. The process has been very, very bureaucratically slow for us, but we do see that there's some light at the end of the tunnel. The news today from Congressman Kevin Brady and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Congressman Poe and others here on the Hill have really been a great welcome to those folks in southeastern deep east Texas.

PHILLIPS: What about Sabine Pass by Port Arthur? I understand it was literally just wiped off the map. And within this whole area there was a pretty good-looking fire station, and that's because "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" came in and actually took care of the firehouse. It wasn't FEMA or anything else. Is that what it's coming to? Is it some of these cities and counties are going to go bankrupt unless somebody steps in immediately?

DIGGLES: Well, you know, Hurricane Rita was a Category 3 hurricane, and it slammed into Sabine Pass and Port Arthur and the southern most part of the Gulf Coast area in southeast Texas. And those winds were devastating. And because of the slow response that those local governments received, they had to expend their local resources.

So those small counties who were already facing some challenges in their local budgets were just not prepared for a hurricane of that size. And, again, right now you have got counties who have borrowed money to just take care of the hurricane recovery effort. So, yes, it's been a challenge for them.

PHILLIPS: Walter, did you get any money from HUD, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development? DIGGLES: Well, just recently we got the announcement about the $74 million to Texas, which was really a small amount based upon the enormous damage to the area. And that's the money you mentioned earlier that we're just getting to the point to where we're about to get some of it to where it needs to go to.

PHILLIPS: OK, got it. Now you had -- there were 27,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina -- or no. You had -- there are far more victims of Hurricane Katrina, but you had 27,000 of those victims that came to Texas, is that right? I mean, could you even care for all those folks that came from Katrina and then were hit by Rita?

DIGGLES: I think that was the irony about Hurricane Rita. We were playing host to Hurricane Katrina evacuees, thousands of evacuees, in southeastern and deep east Texas, and just prior to Hurricane Rita, so we had expended so many local resources.

The churches and faith-based organizations had opened their arms and their wallets and providing all kinds of assistance to those Hurricane Katrina evacuees. And when we were hit by Hurricane Rita, we just didn't get the same kind of treatment. And, of course, we found out and we already knew that hurricanes don't discriminate across the state lines.

PHILLIPS: Isn't that the truth. Will you keep us updated? I know there were a lot of families affected, but we were pretty touched by the Reynolds family. Will you let us know if they get money soon?

DIGGLES: Well, thank you very much, and we appreciate your report because it certainly will not allow Hurricane Rita to be known as the forgotten hurricane.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to stay on top of it. I can promise you that. Walter Diggles, thanks so much.

DIGGLES: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, for too many survivors of Hurricane Katrina, what followed was silence. The storm left much of the Gulf Coast without cell phone service at the very time frantic friends and families were trying to call in.

Cell phone companies hope to do better this year though. They've invested millions of dollars on new communication towers and mobile command centers. They're also advising customers to have fresh batteries and to program emergency numbers into their phones.

Forgetting calling him about a man about town, this is a man about a continent. CNN's Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange in the house. He covers more big stories in a year than many reporters see in a lifetime. He's going to bring us a few of the biggest, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to Carol Lin in the newsroom. More on that standoff with the SWAT team in Tyler, Texas.

LIN: That's right. Two Texas deputies have been shot in Tyler, Texas, Kyra. Apparently they were responding a domestic disturbance. What you're looking at is the neighborhood right now. Those two deputies have been transported to a local hospital, but we don't know what the circumstances inside one of those houses there.

You can't quite see the house, but what authorities are trying to figure out right now is whether the suspect is barricaded in the home alone or if at this point he has hostages -- he or she has hostages. We don't know much more about the suspect. But the SWAT team is on the scene. There was an armored vehicle there at the scene, but it looks like people are beginning to mill around. So we may have a development here shortly.

PHILLIPS: All right, you let us know, Carol. We'll get right back to it. Thank you so much.

More than four dozen countries, more than a thousand languages and one man in command of all of it. Jeff Koinange, CNN's Africa correspondent, in the house. We're going to talk about Islamic militias in Somalia, the changing politics of Liberia. But let's start with Congo, where an exclusive CNN report gets the president's attention. You sure got our attention. And we got a lot of response after we aired your piece about these women in Congo.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Tough story, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Being raped, being mutilated. I mean, the biggest hate crime you've ever seen, all about ethnic cleansing, and it's being done by the military.

KOINANGE: Yes. And you know what, I've done a lot of human interest stories in Africa, but this one will never leave me. Is the faces, those women. That one woman, Henriette (ph), who had been raped when she was 13...

PHILLIPS: You profiled her in your piece.

KOINANGE: Yes. She came back again five years later, more mutilated, physically, psychologically, mentally. She's a gone case. And there's plenty like her. A dozen come in every day with fresh wounds.

PHILLIPS: So what's it going to take? You talk about Joseph Kabila, this young -- the young new president. He won, right, the election?

KOINANGE: Not yet. The election is in July.

PHILLIPS: No, no, the election's coming up in July. Right, that's right. But he's the frontrunner?

KOINANGE: Correct. First one in more than 40 years. There are 33 candidates are running for president, 10,000 candidates running for 500 seats. But this young man, even his most vocal critics will say he has the best chance of winning. Why? Because he's young, he's enterprising, he's progressive. And he spent most of his life in the military so he understands this country, a third the size of the United States, with -- check this out -- 500 miles of roads. So the infrastructure is -- you can't speak of it. Logistically, you can't get around the country. But this young man has been around, knows his way around, and if anyone can do it, he can.

PHILLIPS: Where are the U.N. peacekeepers?

KOINANGE: 19,000 of them in that country, and still these crimes go on today. It's unbelievable. You cannot imagine what goes on in that country.

PHILLIPS: I know you're going to say you're going to do follow- ups. The elections, right?

KOINANGE: We hope so, yes.

PHILLIPS: And then -- and "Time" magazine even has a cover story on the exact issue, so we will definitely not let it go.

Let's talk about Somalia, the unrest there. The last time I think we really talked about Mogadishu, Blackhawk down, and the failed attempt to get that druglord out of there, Hadid (ph). We saw what happened and what unfolded.

KOINANGE: And in those 15 years or so, look what happened. There's been no government to speak. There's been nothing. Everyone left the country, even NGOs and other aid agencies. They all left the country. So what happens is it's a lawless, unnavigable kind of situation there. You cannot -- we can't go in. I can't cover that story today, because we will get killed. There's militias running the streets, roaming the streets literally. And block after block after block. It needs to change.

PHILLIPS: How did it get out of control? Because the U.S. military was trying to get in there, intervene and get the -- just basically the militias that were running the drugs and bringing that country to absolute chaos, a civil war. Did it just keep getting worse?

KOINANGE: Worse and worse, because once the U.S. pulled out, everyone else pulled out, and they left the militias to run the country. The U.S. thought they could run it from a couple of hundred miles across in the ocean and just monitor the country. Couldn't do that. And this one group, Islamic Cause Union, ICU, they have taken over 90 percent of Mogadishu. The U.S. supports another militia plan right there. So now, lots of guns in the hands of lots of people.

PHILLIPS: Ties to al Qaeda? KOINANGE: This -- ICU is tied to al Qaeda. The U.S. is funding in other groups. It's going to be a bloodbath in the end. It's going to be ugly.

PHILLIPS: There was good news coming out of Liberia. You were on top of this story from the very beginning. Charles Taylor, tied to al Qaeda, corruption, totally taking the people down in that country, finally ousted.

KOINANGE: Tried to run away.

PHILLIPS: Tried to run away. He disappears. They find him. Very interesting back and forth.

KOINANGE: It's a great story.

PHILLIPS: What's the latest?

KOINANGE: The latest is, you know, finally they nabbed him. The U.N. took him to a court, ICC, International Criminal Court, in Sierra Leone, in Nebring (ph), Sierra Leone. And he's in there right now under heavy guard. I mean, he's getting his cable TV and he has a pretty good room and he's there, holed up in there.

But the most important thing is, with his arrest, it sends such an important message across Africa for have-been dictators and would- be dictators. The saw, you know what, your day will come. You can run, but you cannot hide. And you wouldn't believe the reaction, the response across the continent. It shows these people will not get away with it anymore. So he's going to be in there, and he will have his day in court no matter how long it takes.

PHILLIPS: Now one of our favorite characters, individuals, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the president, the newly elected president, first female.

KOINANGE: Yes, great woman.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Amazing. She is tough. And we talked about how you've had a chance to interview her, we had a chance to interview her. And she told me how she was always the bully on the playground. She wasn't about to put up with anybody giving her a hard time. And now she's really making a difference.

KOINANGE: Exactly. And you know what, Kyra, she's going to need a good team to run that country. She has the support, both locally and internationally. And she told me, you know, after her inaugural address, she said in 150 days, you will see a difference. A hundred and 50 days is coming up in the next few weeks, and in Monrovia, you feel electricity.

The streets are paved, they're cleaning it up and it's looking different. And, aesthetically, there is a change. It will take a long time to turn Liberia around, but she's doing the right things. And as long as she gets a good team -- Liberians in the Diaspora need to go back and help her out because you can't do it alone. It's a tough job.

PHILLIPS: And women are getting hired in the military now?

KOINANGE: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Is this because of her?

KOINANGE: Yes. And the police force. And they're running a lot of institutions. And, you know, look, they rule.

PHILLIPS: That's interesting, because then you look at Congo, where women are being raped and mutilated by the military. And look how progressive things are getting in Liberia. Do you think this could have a domino effect? I mean, what she's doing, could that influence if indeed Kabila wins?

KOINANGE: I hope so. It's got to. Women are the backbone of African society, of any society. And if they can do it in Liberia, a country that had reached rock bottom, why not the Congo, which is heading there right now? There is a turnaround stage where, if they miss that window of opportunity, forget about it.

PHILLIPS: So what's the next story? You're here for a little while, and then you're off back covering the entire continent. Is there something that you're working on that we can look forward to?

KOINANGE: Absolutely. Hopefully we'll go back to the Congo for the elections, and that's going to be a biggie. Because, you know, it's Africa's third largest country, 60 million people. Big, big time. It's first election in more than four decades. Good story. And then in July, we're going to have a huge coverage of Africa on -- it's called "Eye on Africa." Going to have a whole team, Jim Clancy and a whole bunch of folks will be coming over.

PHILLIPS: CNN International.

KOINANGE: Yes. Good spin on the continent, and try to, you know, put some uplifting stories about the continent. Because there are many. Yes, we do the heart-wrenching stories, but those have to be done. But there are the good stories, as well.

PHILLIPS: Sure. In 25 years since we found out about AIDS, I mean, it's unbelievable -- it's still a long way to go, but Africa's made a lot of progress.

KOINANGE: It has, and it still continues to, but the message has to be hammered home every single day. This disease is wiping out generation upon generation. And the hard-working, the blue collar, the working generation, if you wipe that out, there's going to be a lot of trouble out there. But at least the message is getting through, right, because of education, people are more aware. And it's -- I mean, it's turning around, hopefully.

PHILLIPS: Jeff Koinange, it's always great to have you, great to see you.

KOINANGE: You too.

PHILLIPS: We're going to get straight back to the news room now. Carol Lin with more details -- is it out of Tyler, Texas? Oh no, we've got brush fires. Carol, you've got a lot on your plate today.

LIN: Busy day. Mayer, Arizona. Kyra, it's not often that you see a wildfire start in the middle of the night, but this happened shortly after midnight. It was started by a lightning strike. And right now about 125 acres are burning in an area called Pine Flats, south of Mayer. I don't have a real perspective on exactly where this is, but it's where a lot of vacation homes are located right now.

Several people have been evacuated. Several homes. They've been evacuated to a middle school. About 20 homes in this area, mostly vacation homes but most of them occupied right now. So this is a brush fire that they seriously want to get under control. It's been described as a really pretty area. They don't want to lose this valley. So a battle going on right now in Mayer, Arizona.

PHILLIPS: Carol Lin, thanks so much.

Straight ahead, summertime. It's no trip to the beach if you get caught in a rip current. How to save yourself next on LIVE FROM.

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PHILLIPS: They're dangerous, sometimes deadly and can form on any coast with breaking waves, that includes the Great Lakes. We're talking about rip currents, which often take swimmers by surprise and keep lifeguards on guard. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joins us with more on what to look for and what to do if you're caught in one -- Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kyra. You know, these numbers behind me might surprise you a little bit. They certainly surprised us when we researched this a little bit closer. The number of deaths there are each year due to rip currents.

Believe it or not, it's more than hurricanes, it's more than lightning, it's more than tornadoes, it's more than flooding. It's only second to heat. So more than 100 people die each year from these rip currents.

Now, what is a rip current and how does it form? Basically it's a wide, fast-moving channel of water that flows away from the beach. They develop in any area that has breaking waves. What happens is waves move from deep water to shallow water and they can form their own little circulation patterns so they break away from the coastline and pull back towards the water.

That's where the rip current is. They most likely form where there's a sandbar here, and there may be a low area in the sandbar or perhaps a break in it. And that's where these fast channels of water begin to push on through that area. They can be as much as a couple hundred yards wide and a couple hundred yards long. So what do you do if you get caught in one of these things? Millions of Americans are going to be going to the beach this summer. Well first of all, if you can and if you don't already know, learn how to swim. If you do go out at a beach, make sure that you swim at a life guarded beach.

Pay attention to the flags. Most beaches have flag with lifeguards will have flags that are green, yellow or red. If you see the red flag flying, you don't want to go out into the water because even water waist deep can catch you off guard and knock you right off of your feet.

Now if you do get caught in the rip current, you don't want to fight that current. You don't swim against it and try not to panic. The best thing to do is swim parallel to the coastline until you get out of that current. Then, head towards the beach. The other thing, if you see your friend getting caught in one of those things, a lot of people die trying to save their friend. Don't go out and be a hero, because you could get caught up yourself.

Dial 911, get the attention of the lifeguard, get a professional out there. If you do have a flotation device, that you can put out in the water. And make sure that you yell for help. Get other people out of the water also if they happen to be in there.

A couple other things I want to mention. Another way that you can help somebody, I've got a picture behind me of how to identify one of these things because you can usually see them. So say you're sitting on your balcony having breakfast in the morning. Well take a look down. This is what it looks like. There you can see the channel of water pulling on through. Here's the sandbar itself. So these things can be identifiable.

Another thing you can do to prepare yourself ahead of time, we've got a Web site for you. It's www.ripcurrent.noaa.gov. And there are a lot of different areas where you can click on this site to give you information on what rip currents are. But more importantly, there are what we call surf zone forecasts and the National Weather Service will actually issue out a warning if they think there's a high likelihood of rip currents on that day. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Jacqui Jeras, you are the expert, thank you very much.

JERAS: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Well straight ahead, rapper, actress, author, model, Queen Latifah has the confidence to excel in anything she tries. Now she's trying to bring that confidence to other women and she's going to tell us how live in the next hour.

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